The Poachers on Kilimanjaro Safaris

[Teresa Pitman]

I remember hearing a rumour at one time that they were going to get rid of the poacher storyline on the safari ride. Anyone know if this is still under consideration?

When we went last week with my 4-year-old grandson, he loved the ride and seeing all the animals - but was very upset by the whole "poacher" thing. He didn't know what a poacher was at first, of course, but then we drove past the "camp" and he saw the elephant tusks and rhino horn and he was very upset. He kept saying "they cut off their tusks and that would hurt the elephants." When we got off the ride, he wanted to know what a poacher was and why people would hurt animals. It really bothered him a lot, and he didn't want to go on the ride again because he didn't want to see the part where they cut off the elephant's tusks. He wanted to go and see the animals and get off the truck before the poacher part (which is not allowed!)

I honestly don't think the poacher section adds anything to what is otherwise a fabulous attraction that we all enjoy - if they get rid of that part it might make the ride more fun for some of the more sensitive younger kids!

Since that day, he tells everyone "If you know anyone who is a poacher, tell them to stop hurting the animals." His own one-man campaign to prevent poaching.

Teresa

 

[minijeanie]

My kids did Safari ride when they were 5 and 4 yrs old.
The thing they remember most was the bumpy ride which made them laugh, the wondeful animals and how the elephant was saved.

Kinda like a Disney movie.
I found it quite enjoyable and my kids had no problem with it whatsover

 

[minnie61650]

I remember hearing a rumour at one time that they were going to get rid of the poacher storyline on the safari ride. Anyone know if this is still under consideration?

When we went last week with my 4-year-old grandson, he loved the ride and seeing all the animals - but was very upset by the whole "poacher" thing. He didn't know what a poacher was at first, of course, but then we drove past the "camp" and he saw the elephant tusks and rhino horn and he was very upset. He kept saying "they cut off their tusks and that would hurt the elephants." When we got off the ride, he wanted to know what a poacher was and why people would hurt animals. It really bothered him a lot, and he didn't want to go on the ride again because he didn't want to see the part where they cut off the elephant's tusks. He wanted to go and see the animals and get off the truck before the poacher part (which is not allowed!)

I honestly don't think the poacher section adds anything to what is otherwise a fabulous attraction that we all enjoy - if they get rid of that part it might make the ride more fun for some of the more sensitive younger kids!

Since that day, he tells everyone "If you know anyone who is a poacher, tell them to stop hurting the animals." His own one-man campaign to prevent poaching.

Teresa

I have wondered about that story line myself,but it does make some people a little more aware of pochers. Your grandson seems young to to have noticed the "tusks' and realize some "bad" people cut them off. He sounds like a very sweet and sensitive child.
I am sorry that the story line upset him so.

 

[PuckHeadBill]

As cheesy as the poacher scene may be, it serves 2 important functions.

1) provides a valuable conservation message, as evidenced by the kid who's now on a crusade to stop all poaching.

2) it gives them a way to end the ride. Would you rather get rid of it, and have the driver just say "Ok, I've driven enough, we're going to stop now" You have to keep in mind that WDW is not just a park, KS is not just a ride, but it's a SHOW. It tells a story. Cutting the ride off without an ending would be akin to dropping the curtain on a play, without staging the finale. You'd be left with an empty "is that it?" feeling

 

[If you Zig I'll Zag]

They could keep the poachers, but change it up a bit, at least once every two years.

 

[mattsdragon]

I've always thought the poacher angle was kind of stupid, especially since we see live animals all through the ride, and then end with an animatronic elephant.

Make a story, that's fine, but do something different, please.

 

[Deb & Bill]

At least they don't kill off Big Red any more. That's what they did when the park first opened.

 

[Teresa Pitman]

I do recognize that the ride needs a storyline with a beginning and an end, but obviously it doesn't need to be about poachers. I can think of lots of other options - maybe Baby Little Red wandered off from the herd and we're asked to see if we can find him and help get him back to his Mama.

My grandson is definitely a sensitive kid who loves animals. He's also a very "noticing" kind of person - he went on Star Tours ONCE and remembers practically every detail, for example. When we walked the trails to see the tigers and gorillas he had a million questions for the CMs in each area. When we went into the aviary part (with the birds) he said to the CM: "Just tell me EVERYTHING about ALL the birds."

Teresa

 

[huskies90]

I do recognize that the ride needs a storyline with a beginning and an end, but obviously it doesn't need to be about poachers. I can think of lots of other options - maybe Baby Little Red wandered off from the herd and we're asked to see if we can find him and help get him back to his Mama.

My grandson is definitely a sensitive kid who loves animals. He's also a very "noticing" kind of person - he went on Star Tours ONCE and remembers practically every detail, for example. When we walked the trails to see the tigers and gorillas he had a million questions for the CMs in each area. When we went into the aviary part (with the birds) he said to the CM: "Just tell me EVERYTHING about ALL the birds."

Teresa

Teresa - Two comments here. First, obviously your grandson is a very intelligent kid and learning about poachers is a good thing. I wouldn't worry about him getting a little educated. He seems to absorb it. Second, and this a general comment not directed in your direction, but it is not unusual for kids to be scared or upset on many attractions. Think about how boring Disney would be if every attraction was "scaled down" to accomodate every scared kid for every attraction? For every scared kid, there are 50 (usually older and yes I include my 37 year old self in that number) that are loving it. Even tame attractions have scared kids. Every time we saw Mickey's Philharmagic there were at least two or three screaming terrified kids. Believe me, when your grandson is 7-8 years old, he'll love this stuff and anything else that scares/upsets him now. And if it is too much for him now, just give it a few years, Disney will still be there and I am sure the poacher story will still be around too...hehehe

 

[outtonight]

I for one have always disliked the attempt at making the ride "a show;" I just don't think that it's been done well. For the majority of the ride, it's just a safari -- then it seems like the storyline is just randomly tacked onto the end, which just doesn't seem very Disney-quality to me. Of course, I realize that it's necessary, because what is Disney without the story? But I just think that maybe they need to rework it so that there's more building up to the "finale."

As to the OP, that actually makes me a little proud. Not that it bothered your child, but that he's become such an advocate for animals because of it! As for the ride itself, I don't like the poacher storyline, either -- simply because I'm such an animal lover, and I hate being faced with the reality that so many people aren't. When at Disney, I prefer to leave the cruelness of reality at home -- but now that I see that maybe through this ride children are becoming more educated and more concerned about animal cruelty, I must applaud Disney!

 

[Rachie0507]

My 3 yr. old DS hated the safari for the same reason. I don't think he ever picked up on what a poacher actually was but he could tell by the tone of the voices over the radio that it wasn't good. I don't think the storyline is necessary, they could have just made it a nice safari ride with some help identifying the animals. But that wouldn't have been Disney's style. There always has to be a storyline in everything!! My lesson during my trip with my kids though, was that they pick up on a lot more than I do and therefore were frightened (or excited) by things I never considered. And now they will not ride the safari again until they are old enough to understand it.

BTW, my kids were bored in general w/ AK. I was so disappointed because it is a favorite of mine. But they weren't interested in walking (or riding) long distances to just look at animals. We didn't stay very long at all

 

[SueM in MN]

Actually the "poacher" storyline is begun with the start of the attraction where they begin talking about game wardens in the reserve and what some of their duties are. It's integrated into the whole attraction thru the "radio calls" between the game wardens (Wilson and the lady) in the airplane and your driver. From what I've read about game reserves in Africa, chasing down poachers is a big part of their job in real life.
The race to get to the poachers is my youngest DD's favorite part because it's fast and bumpy.

One of the goals of AK was to make people aware of conservation in an entertaining way, so this storyline fits in with their goal (at least according to the book I have about the making of AK).

 

[DizCaptain]

As cheesy as the poacher scene may be, it serves 2 important functions.

1) provides a valuable conservation message, as evidenced by the kid who's now on a crusade to stop all poaching

This is very right in the fact that hte ride was sort of made for housing animals and also to give the message of not poaching.

 

[outtonight]

Actually the "poacher" storyline is begun with the start of the attraction...

I know, but it doesn't have enough of a presence, I think. It's sort've just in the background for the majority of the ride, making one forget its very existence until the end. I still feel as though the storyline was simply tossed into the ride as an afterthought of sorts; I just don't feel it was put together as well as it could have been.

 

[poj7]

Since that day, he tells everyone "If you know anyone who is a poacher, tell them to stop hurting the animals." His own one-man campaign to prevent poaching.

Teresa

I think you just proved the point Disney was trying to make.

 

[bytheblood]

My opinon is that the poacher bit is very lame. To me, it really adds cheese factor to the attraction.

 

[pezpam]

The first time I took DD on the safari ride, she was 5 and thought it was all real, too. However, her reaction at the end, as the ride was ending and the poachers had been 'caught' was to put her hands on her hips and ask me, pretty loudly, ..."how ANYONE could be SO STUPID to be a poacher INSIDE Disney? I mean, they HAVE to KNOW they're gonna get caught! Where could they hide?"

I just about busted a gut - took a lot to hold that in and give her an answer. The driver was smiling at us like mad, too, so I guess he caught it. She's embarrassed by that story now, being 8 years old and all grown up. It's one of my favorite Disney moments.

 

[TnTsParty]

I too agree that the poacher story is a little cheesey but its part of Disney. I have a question though - the first few times I did this ride and even in May of this year you could see the poachers jeep running through the woods but when we went in Sept and just on Saturday when we did it we didn't see the jeep running through the woods - is it because we were there first thing in the AM in Sept and Saturday and the other times were later or do they not run the jeep through the woods anymore?

 

[cara76]

I think the poacher line is a bit cheesy too, but so are the Jungle Cruise jokes.

The last time we rode this ride it seemed different from the frist time we rode it a few years ago. It seem the poacher story was just thrown in this time where as the first time it was more a part of the ride.

 

[palmtreegirl]

We went on the Safari ride a few weeks ago and the audio didn't work for the whole poucher thing, it was so nice. The CM instead talked more about the different animals when the whole "We call them Tommy's bit" was supposed to happen. I liked the ride much better without it.